Man Arrested in Possible Connection to DA McLelland Slaying

An arrest was made out of the investigation into the murders of Texas District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia.

A Kaufman County man was arrested for making terroristic threats against a county official just two days after the slayings of Texas District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia, reports ABC 13. The arrest came out of the investigation into the murders, but authorities say that the man is not directly connected.

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Nick Morale was arrested on one charge of making a terroristic threat and is being held in the Kaufman County Jail on a $1 million bond. The 56-year-old man allegedly called the county’s Crime Stoppers hotline on April 1 and reported the name of an official, which is not being released to the public, who would be the next victim. Morale blocked the caller ID on his phone so that they wouldn’t know who is calling. However, there is no link between him and the murder of the DA and his wife.

“At this time there is nothing to link Mr. Morale to the murders of Mike and Cynthia McClelland or Mark Hasse,” Lt. Justin Lewis of the Kaufman Conty Sheriff’s Office said. “Making threats against persons carries criminal penalties under both state and federal law with some of those penalties being pretty severe.”

In addition to the recent slayings, Assistant DA Mark Hasse was murdered two months ago in the courthouse parking lot.

Investigators are not releasing further information into case, but authorities said Wednesday that they are increasing security throughout the county with guards escorting the acting DA from her home and to the courthouse.